The Sun Shines Silver
by Tahimikamaxtli
Summary: High up on the very peak of Mt. Targon, there is a place where the sun is said to shine more brightly than anywhere else on Valoran. Here, the Solari live in holy reverence of its sacred light, and here, the Chosen of the Sun herself also makes her home. But wherever the golden rays of the sun reach, the silver glow of the moon is bound to touch as well...
1. Chapter 1

**The Sun Shines Silver**

The Prisoner and the Guard:

Nayobi stood with her back to the cell.

Her long spear – taller than herself by almost another good two feet – was held securely in her only somewhat sweaty left hand. Its leaf-shaped blade was razor-sharp and wicked-looking as the bright gold-toned metal of the tip glinted dangerously in the surprisingly harsh light of the temple jail. The sunlight beat down on her relentlessly through the large glass windows that had been specially set into the wall before the cell. The afternoon sun was high in the sky, and it shone on her with all of its radiant glory.

Nayobi wore a full set of standard armor, and though she was quite normally used to the heat of the sun as a member of the Solari, even she had to admit that it was beginning to grow a _little_ uncomfortable underneath all the cumbersome metal she wore. She had been tasked to guard the cell for the day, and she knew that her shift would not be over for another several hours; it would be dark before she would finally be allowed to move from her position.

She could feel a small bead of sweat trickle down from her temple and over the dusky, almost burnt caramel-colored skin of her cheek. It tickled as it went and she resisted the urge to wipe it away; she was determined to not show _any_ sign of discomfort or fear in front of the prisoner. Sunlight danced momentarily off of her armor as she hastily shifted the spear she held from her left hand to her right. Every Rakkoran – Solari or not – knew that it was not wise to hold a weapon with an uncertain grip.

She knew that other than the single prisoner behind her, all the other cells in the temple jail were empty. She thought that she could hear the quiet and constant drip of water off in some other unseen corner of the temple jail, but that did little to quell the discomfort stirring in her heart.

She was alone with the prisoner.

Her sunlight-orange eyes moved slowly beneath the slit of her helmet as she glanced carefully out of the corner of her visor to look back at the cell behind her. Even though the sunlight from the windows before her was shining into the cell, the prisoner had somehow managed to shroud themselves in the few shadows that still remained in the very corners of the cell. Though she could see their form crouched against the walls of the cell, their face was hidden by shadow.

But she did not even need to look back to _feel_ the undeniable malice and hate that radiated off of the prisoner like heat – malice and hate that was directed at _her._ Nayobi swallowed uncertainly as she quickly faced her eyes forward once more. Though she was sure that the bars of the cell would be more than enough to hold the prisoner, she would have wished for another guard or two just in case something went wrong.

She was in the middle of running through numerous possible worst-case scenarios in her head when she heard the door to the temple jail open. She froze as the unmistakable sound of slowly approaching footsteps grew louder and louder with each passing moment. Turning to face the newcomer, she straightened her slightly slouching back as much as she could when she finally saw who it was.

Leona – the Radiant Dawn herself – was dressed in plain white robes that fit her toned form loosely. They were similar to the plain robes that the acolytes of the Solari wore, but hers were also trimmed with shimmering golden thread to show her status as a senior member of the temple. Her thick auburn hair was tied back in a simple ponytail that was held in place with a short length of shimmering golden cord. She had a plate of food in one hand, and a full waterskin was slung over her other shoulder. It was her sandaled feet that had made the sound of footsteps, and the noise died away as Leona stopped before Nayobi.

She dropped to one knee before the Chosen of the Sun, bowing her head and resting her arm over her knee in the traditional Rakkoran display of respect. Though Leona was only a handful of years older than Nayobi, her role as the Chosen of the Sun gave her the same position of respect as many of the elders of the temple.

"Your Radiance," she asked without looking up. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring you some food," she replied, her voice steady and unhurried. "Please stand up, Nayobi; you can't see with your head bowed like that."

Nayobi obeyed, straightening so that she stood once more. Leona was taller than her by a fair amount, and she looked down at her feet to avert her eyes from those of the Radiant Dawn.

"Take off your helmet, Nayobi," said Leona with a hint of amusement in her voice. "How are you going to eat with it on?"

Slightly sheepishly, Nayobi took hold of her helmet and lifted it slowly off of her head. Her short black hair hardly reached past her ears in length, and it was messy from being under the helmet for so long. She ruffled it with one hand in an effort to straighten it out, but it did little to help her disheveled appearance.

Leona laughed at her attempts to make herself look presentable, and it was like the room got a little brighter; suddenly, Nayobi did not feel as though the sun was as uncomfortable as before. Instead, the light was warm and protective and comforting.

"Sit down," said Leona easily as she too sat down cross-legged on the floor of the jail, folding her robes over her knees. Nayobi took a hesitant breath, looking around quickly before she finally joined Leona on the floor. It took her a moment or two, but she managed to find a sitting position that was somewhat comfortable despite the armor she wore. She laid her spear across her lap – making sure to keep it safely out of the reach of the prisoner.

"Here," said Leona as she pushed the plate of food to Nayobi. It was piled high with a mixture of breads, cheeses, and fruits that made her mouth water and her stomach rumble. She took some bread, some slices of cheese, and a handful of small red fruits called sundrops that grew only in the soils at the very top of Mt. Targon.

"Thank you," said Nayobi gratefully as she placed the food in her lap.

Leona merely smiled in reply and gave a small dip of her head as she took some food for herself. She removed the water-skin from around her shoulder and offered it to Nayobi, who drank from it thankfully. She handed it back to Leona when she was done, and she slung it back over her shoulder.

For several minutes, the only sound was that of their chewing as they ate their fill from the plate. All the while, Nayobi could feel the eyes of the prisoner watching them from behind the bars of the cell. Leona seemed not to notice, and she sat back with a long sigh when she was finished. She looked idly out the window, and her face was suddenly and uncharacteristically solemn. The sunlight from the window cast her face into shadows, and she looked down at her hands.

"When is the execution set for?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Nayobi swallowed nervously as her eyes flicked to the cell. "Tomorrow," she replied just as quietly. "At the first light of dawn."

"I made it just in time, then," muttered Leona, more to herself than to Nayobi. One of her hands had fallen to her sandals, and she was picking restlessly at the leather of the soles with her fingernails.

Nayobi knew that Leona had been away from the temple of the Solari for the past week – she had embarked on a spiritual journey to the peak of Mt. Targon – but like everyone else, she had been under the impression that Leona would not return for at least another week. Much to everyone's surprise however, she had returned late yesterday evening out-of-breath and exhausted as she stumbled down the side of the mountain. She had not told anyone of her reason for her return, but Nayobi thought she knew; the name in question hung unspoken on the lips of everyone at the temple.

"Your Radiance..." she began slowly, unable to meet Leona's eyes. Leona cut her off with another laugh, the sound clear and ringing.

"Please, just call me Leona," she said with an easy smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

Nayobi laughed uncertainly, glancing over at the prisoner hidden in the shadow. They had still not moved from where they sat in the shadows.

"Leona, then," she said quickly as she let her hand rest on the shaft of her spear. "If you don't mind me asking... what exactly happened between you and the Scorn of the Moon?"

For a moment, she thought Leona had not heard her; she had remained still, her eyes elsewhere as her fingers played slowly over the leather of her sandals. Nayobi almost recoiled as Leona moved her gaze to look at her: her eyes were dark with some unknown mixture of emotions that sent a faint shiver of quiet fear up her spine.

"She has a _name_," she said coldly as she looked back down at her hands. "It's Diana. Not 'the _Scorn_ of the Moon.' _Diana._"

Nayobi pursed her lips, unsure whether she should press the question again. Leona had looked back out the window at the sun shining outside, her eyes faraway again but the expression from before vanishing. Then she sighed heavily, and it was like a cloud had passed before the sun. She drew her arms around herself as the sunlight that streamed through the windows grew colder and more unforgiving.

"Have you ever loved someone, Nayobi?" she asked quietly.

Nayobi blinked in surprise, the question catching her off-guard: love was not something that Rakkorans discussed regularly if at all – though the topic was not especially taboo. She shifted uncertainly where she sat, the metal of her armor scraping quietly against the stone floor as she moved.

"I love my parents," she said nervously, unsure as to what Leona wanted to hear. "A- and my brother."

Leona smiled weakly, the gesture almost painful-looking as she looked at some point over Nayobi's shoulder. There was a forlorn and lonely light in her eyes now.

"Not like that," she said with a sad shake of her head. "I meant, have you ever been _in_ love? With someone else?"

Nayobi opened her mouth, but she closed it again when she realized that she did not have an answer. Instead, she hung her head as she looked at the spear laid across her lap. It was not a question she had ever considered before. Nayobi felt an uncomfortable prickling itching at her cheeks as she realized the implications of Leona's words. She knew that her face had reddened, and she avoided meeting her companion's eyes.

"It was a while ago," said Leona finally after a minute of silence. Her voice was quiet and slow, but there was unmistakable emotion behind it. "I had just turned 16 when I first saw her."

"Saw who?" muttered Nayobi, though she knew that asking the question was pointless. The name escaped Leona's lips in a breathless sigh.

"_Diana._"


	2. Chapter 2

The First Light of Dawn:

Diana watched the procession as they came up the side of the mountain. Her face was flushed a pale pink from being in the sun for so long and her silver eyes glittered as she followed their slow progress. She was hidden amongst the rocks and the plants, palms flat against the ground to steady herself as she knelt down. The skin of her knees was red and raw from kneeling against the hard earth for so long and her bare feet were cracked from walking down the side of Mt. Targon. The pale acolyte robes she wore were dirty with soil and covered in numerous scratches from the rocks and rough plants. She was careful to stay out of sight of the procession as best she could, hiding behind the various plants and large rocks that dotted the landscape of Rakkoran lands.

The midday sun was high in the sky now and it made her skin prickle uncomfortably from the almost painfully bright sunshine. Diana did not particularly enjoy the heat – _especially_ not the kind that came from the sun – and today the sun was burning brighter than ever in the sky. For some reason, she had always found it to be strangely menacing and not at all protective like her Solari mentors had assured her it was. She felt as though it was constantly trying to find her, and her pale skin would burn exceptionally quickly in the sun. The skin of her shoulders and neck was already an angry-looking red and it was already beginning to peel. It itched terribly, but Diana knew better than to scratch it.

Caught in her musings, she did not notice the unstable rock that she had rested her left hand on. When she shifted her weight, it came loose and she tumbled forwards as she lost her balance. She gave a small sound of dismay as the rock rolled down the side of the mountain and as she fell flatly onto her face. Her choppy silver hair – perpetually cut short by the other young acolytes of the Solari – fell before her face as she stumbled.

Spitting dirt out her mouth, she looked carefully back down at the procession. She waited with held breath as she followed the falling rock's progress down the mountainside, certain that the noise would be enough to alert them to her presence.

But to her surprise, they did not seem to notice the falling rock – or her – and they continued on their path without so much as a glance upwards at the spot where she was hiding. Regardless, she waited until she was sure that they would not be able to see her before she risked lifting her head again. Straightening, she blew the short strands of silver hair out her face and narrowed her eyes against the brightness of the sun's rays.

Diana could just barely see the outlines of the procession, and their forms were silhouetted by the sun as they made their way towards the top of the mountain. It was a relatively small company, made up of only a little more than a dozen or so. She could see the shapes of the spears that the guards held, but there were only four or five guards. The rest were the Solari elders themselves; Diana could make out their brilliantly white robes whipping in the wind and it was a sight she knew all too well. They walked quickly and with clear purpose, their tall forms obscuring the only one Diana had _really_ wanted to see.

The Avatar of the Sun.

The halls of Skyfire – the formal name for the Solari temple – had been alive with whispers for the past week, and every single one had been concerning the Avatar of the Sun. If the rumors were to be believed, the Avatar was nothing more than a Rakkoran girl of 16. Diana knew little else about her, and the others in the temple had not been willing to tell her anything further. What she _had_ learned, she had picked up from eavesdropping at doors and hiding out of sight to listen when others spoke.

Diana was the pariah of the Solari temple, and she was more used to being ignored completely than having her existence acknowledged at all. Whenever she _was_ paid attention to, it was usually only because she had done something bad and she was going to get punished.

Diana was already risking further punishment simply by coming to see the procession; she had been banned from leaving the temple for the time being – though she had managed to sneak out regardless – and if she was caught she would be severely punished. She was used to being disciplined, and her back was lined with faded scars from previous punishments.

But she had wanted to see the Avatar.

She had felt a strange admiration for this mystery Rakkoran girl – as though it was the sun itself that had descended to Valoran and not just someone her own age. She had always assumed – and she thought the elders did as well – that the Avatar of the Sun would be a member of the Solari. No one had expected that she could be a simple Rakkoran warrior girl, and Diana was curious about how the elders would take this revelation. There was no doubt that she was frightened, but she also felt inexplicably drawn to her – as though there were a connection between them that she could not even begin to fathom herself.

Rising quickly, she hurried after the procession as best she could while still staying safely out of sight. They were still some hours distance away from arriving at the temple, and they were moving far slower than Diana could on her own. Moving swiftly over the rocks and the plants, she made her way to a spot where she could see the procession.

They had stopped for a brief rest, and Diana could see them standing in a circle. The guards were off to one side, keeping a lookout as the elders spoke to a figure in the middle. Diana could not see her with the current position she was at, but she thought that if she moved a little further up the mountain, she might finally be able to get a glance. Moving with care, she inched a couple steps further up the mountain. She looked back down at the procession and at the small circle of elders.

And then she saw her.

Diana's breath caught in her lungs and she felt as if liquid sunlight was spreading throughout her body; a warm tingle ran from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet that lingered pleasantly like buzzing bees caught beneath her skin.

Whoever the girl was, she was striking.

Even at the distance she was at, Diana could see her auburn hair, and it seemed to glow golden in the sunlight. She had a handsome face with strong features, and she stood proudly and confidently with a straight back. Her expression looked as though she could be just as bloodthirsty as the other Rakkor, but there was also an unexpected warmth and softness in her eyes. It was a gentleness that was uncommon in the faces of the warriors that Diana had seen before. She had on a robe that was nearly identical to the Solari elders, but she wore it uncomfortably and uncertainly – as though she were still more used to wearing armor than robes.

She had a peculiar magnetism about her, and Diana found her eyes drawn to her face. For several seconds, she did not even realize that she was staring. When she finally did, she sat back down hastily, leaning her back against a large rock to make sure that she stayed securely out of sight. But now her face was flushed from more than just the sun, and her heart was racing rapidly. Diana could feel a strange heat within her chest like a flickering ember, and she laid a trembling hand over her breast as though she wanted to keep the small flame inside from escaping.

Then she closed her eyes and lost herself in the quiet fluttering of her heart.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Solari temple, your Radiance," said one of the Solari elders. Leona could not quite remember his name, but she thought it might have been Dionysus or something along those lines. She had been introduced to so many people during the past week that it felt to her like it had been nothing more than a whirlwind of names. She had never been much good with names and she feared that it would show soon enough.<p>

But this time, Leona looked up in interest at the elder's words; they had been walking up the side of the mountain for some time now and she was curious at to what exactly their ultimate destination looked like. It had been a decently long journey, but as a child of the Rakkor, Leona was used to exercise and she did not mind. She thought that some of the elders looked a little out of breath, but it was no fault of their own – they were aged and not quite as energetic as she was.

She had been just as surprised as her parents had been to see that the Solari elders themselves had descended from the top of Mt. Targon to take her away. As a member of the Rakkoran warrior class, she had heard the stories of the Solari who lived atop the mountain, but she had never paid too much attention to them. The elders – or any other Solari, for that matter – rarely came down from the temple, and their sporadic visits did not often catch her attention.

But Leona had always been _slightly_ more curious than her childhood friends, and she had sometimes wondered about the strange Rakkor who lived at the top of the mountain. Her limbs were already tingling from anticipation, and she hardly paid attention to the elder who was still droning on about the history of the temple. He was in front of her and blocking her vision of the tower, and she resisted the urge to push him out of the way. At last, he moved out of the way and she could see the temple.

Leona gasped aloud, unable to contain herself.

The Solari temple jutted out from the side of the mountain, and it was at the same time regal and imposing. It looked as thought it were carved into the face of the mountain, and it was made of a brilliantly white stone that shone in the light like the sun itself. Strangely, it did not seem to hurt her eyes as much as she thought it would to look directly at the temple, and she could see all the details clearly.

The white stone was worn smooth from the sun and the wind and the elements, and she thought that she could see some kind of gold metal lining various edges of the temple. The tops of the various domes and towers were lined with golden-red tiles that looked like the rays of the sunrise. It was massive – far larger than she had originally expected – and she had never seen anything as impressive ever before. Her eyes traced the very outline of the temple, from the pointed tops of the numerous citadels to the windows that dotted the stone walls. She was breathless, and there was a strange tingling at the base of her head that had definitely not been there before.

She felt as though she had been here before. She _had_ been here before... _right_? It was so familiar and yet she knew for certain that she had never stepped foot outside the furthest reaches of her Rakkoran camp in her lifetime; it felt like a half-remembered dream that lingered in her head momentarily after waking up. Why did it feel so familiar, and why could she not remember why? The elder to her left – Aloysius, maybe, or something like that – had a small knowing smile as he looked at her dumbstruck expression.

"It is familiar, is it not?" he asked quietly. Leona could not find the words to speak; she could only nod as her voice continued to elude her.

"Of course it is," he continued gently. "You built this place with your bare hands, your Radiance – many, many eons ago. You _know_ that you have been here before."

"This is the Solari temple, but it is also known as Skyfire – named so for the lights in the sky that had brought the very first Avatar of the Sun to this place," continued Dionysus. "It has remained unchanged since that time."

Leona's knees were weak, and she took several breaths to steady herself. She felt one of the elders place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You need not worry anymore, your Radiance," said Dionysus gently. His tone was soothing, but there was also a strange edge to his voice – as though he were talking to an image of her in the future rather than the person she was now.

"You are home."

* * *

><p>It was several more minutes of walking before they finally reached the walls surrounding the temple, and all the while they were talking, Leona was again struck by just how large it was. For being what looked to be a single building, it was far larger than even the modest Rakkoran camp in which she had grown up in. She saw how it was fastened out of the mountainside itself, and she was certain that much more of its space was hidden deep inside the rest of the mountain. The stark white stone towers and citadels rose above her, casting their shadow over her like the fingers of Mt. Targon itself reaching up into the blue sky. The sun seemed to burn more brightly here, and she could feel the sunlight dancing across her skin.<p>

The closer she got, the more Skyfire seemed to beckon to her. Her footsteps were slow and uncertain – like she was being dragged to the temple more than walking to it of her own accord. The procession passed through large white walls by way of a pair of massive wooden doors, and she ran her hand along the smooth dark wood. Her fingers lingered on the surprisingly cool stone of the walls, and she felt a slight tingling in her fingertips even after she had lifted them away. She had originally thought that the Solari temple was set at the very peak of Mt. Targon, but she could see know that there was still a long distance to go before one could ascend the top of the mountain. It was at least several more day's worth of journey over rough terrain before one could reach the peak.

This place was mesmerizing, and she was already giddy with a strange unexplained joy. She was intoxicated with happiness, and she spun around several times to take in as much of the sight as she could. Inside of the walls, she saw that there was a fair amount of lush green grounds that surrounded Skyfire. Brick paths wound throughout the gardens, cutting through the grass like knices. The gardens were very well-tended to, and there was not a single patch of neglected grass or a single walkway brick out of place. Leona leapt off of the brick path they were on and landed lightly onto the grass.

It felt soft beneath her sandals, and she took them off so that her toes could dug into the cool blades. She gave a little giggle as the grass tickled the bottoms of her feet. She thought she saw several faces of the elders purse in disapproval behind her, but they said nothing and so she ignored them.

In her jubilation, Leona had not realized that there were several other members of the Solari tending to the grass and the flowers. Some paused what they were doing as they saw her, and many fell to one knee to salute as she passed. Leona was a little taken aback by their displays of respect, and she felt uneasy to receive such displays from people who were older than her.

She was not used to such attention, and she returned their salutes with a meek nod of her head.

"Why are they bowing?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Because you are the sun, your Radiance," said another elder – a woman this time, whose name Leona thought might have been Antigone – simply. "Some of us here at Skyfire have waited a very long time for you. Some even wondered whether they would even see you in their lifetime."

Leona swallowed. She had not stepped foot into the temple for even half an hour and she was already being set up for expectations that she did not think she would ever reach. She did not know why she was here – she had never asked to be and she had certain never _wanted_ to come. She was uncertain and a little afraid, but it was her duty now. If the Solari asked of her to be their protector, she would be.

A sudden commotion to one side caught her attention, and she turned in the direction of the sound. For several moments, she did not know what what making the ruckus, but then she saw an older Solari member wrestling with a struggling girl in another corner of the grounds. The girl was dressed in the same robes as the other Solari, but hers were dirty and covered with leaves as though she had been hiking up the mountainside. Her skin was paler than Leona had ever seen before, and it was burned red from the sun. The girl had short hair of a silver shade the likes of which Leona had never seen before. It shone in the midday sun like starlight or maybe even like moonbeams.

Leona was too far away to accurately make out what they were saying, but it was clear that the older member was disciplining the younger one. Her voice was loud and angry as she grappled with the resisting girl. Even as Leona watched, the older Solari finally managed to get a grip on the girl's hair, and she began to pull her roughly in the direction of the temple. The other Solari working the gardens did not cast the raging battle so much as a sideways glance; it appeared as though the sight was a common one, and they were used to it. Leona watched as the girl struggled the entire way she was being hauled away, and she shifted suddenly.

And then she saw her.

Her face was slightly more delicate than what Leona was used to seeing on the warriors she knew, but she had the same strong features of all the Rakkor. She was striking in a mysterious sort of way – as if her features looked best when cast in the pale light of the moon or in the flickering shadows of a dying candle. Her irises were the color of moonlight, and Leona could see them clearly even from where she was at. The girl shifted again in her struggles, and for only an instant, she locked eyes with Leona.

Leona felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice-water down her back; she straightened as though she had been struck by lightning as the strange feeling of cold spread from her spine to the all the extremeties of her body. Peculiarly, the sensation was somehow not uncomfortable, and it was closer to when she had jumped into cold lakes on a hot day. Slowly, the sensation faded away and left her with a pleasant tingling behind her ears and in her stomach that was far stronger than what she had felt when she had first seen Skyfire.

Their eye contact broke as the girl was finally dragged into the temple and out of sight. But the tingling feeling remained in Leona, and she found that her throat was dry. It took her several tries before she could find the words to speak.

"Who was that?" she asked as she pointed a finger at the door through which the girl had disappeared. Dionysus looked in the direction, and his face pinched as though he had eated something sourer.

"That... was the Heretic," he said disdainfully.

"Is that her name?" asked Leona in confusion.

"No," said Dionysus. "No, that is not her name."

"Who is she, then?" asked Leona, suddenly curious to know. The elders looked at each other momentarily, and one cleared his throat.

"She is a pariah, your Radiance."

"Pariah?

"An outcast. A disgraceful failure that we have yet to rectify."

Leona rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Okay, but what's her _name_?"

"Her name is Diana," said Antigone shortly as she grabbed Leona's arm. "Now, stop asking foolish questions and let us get inside."

Leona did not resist as she was pulled in the direction of the temple; her mind was positively buzzing with the girl's name. She rolled it around it her head and let its sound linger in her tongue as she whispered it to herself.

Diana.


	3. Chapter 3

Skyfire:

The interior of Skyfire was just as majestic as the exterior; the inside walls were carved from the same stone as the outer walls and it seemed to glow even without the light of the afternoon sun. The stone was a brilliant white that was so spotlessly clean Leona figured that if she walked up to them, she would be able to see her reflection in their polished surface. Like the outside walls, the strange light reflecting off of the stone did not hurt her eyes, and she could look around freely. There was much to take in, and she did not want to miss a single detail of the temple.

The large door the elders had led her through opened to a massive circular room that had two sets of stairs along both sides leading up to what she assumed were the upper floors of the temple. There were large windows of colored glass set into the wall behind her and above the doorway she had just walked through. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, sending ethereal colors and lights dancing along the walls. Inside of the temple it was surprisingly cool, and Leona could feel the hint of a breeze lift the edges of her robe. She did not know where it was coming from, but she was grateful nonetheless.

There was a large graphic of a sun set into the stone at her feet and it spanned the entire width of the room. The tips of its rays touched the very edges of the room, and the center was a smooth unbroken circle of yellowed stone. It was not overly-detailed like one would imagine it to be, but it had ancient sort of presence that needed no further decoration. It had been carved into the stone itself, and the image was surprisingly well-kept given that it was likely trod on every day.

From what else Leona could see, it appeared that the central room seemed to branch off into other hallways that she imagined led deeper into Skyfire and the mountain. It was quiet in the temple, and she wondered where the other Solari could be. She could not see any of the others, but she imagined that there were surely others.

"This way," said Dionysus, his voice breaking her out of her slight trance. He was already walking in the direction of one of the branching hallways with long strides full of purpose. Leona and the rest of the elders followed him, their combined footsteps sounding like a chorus of hooves against the stone floor. They walked over the sun carved in the floor towards the hallway with the largest entrance. It was located opposite the door they had come in through, and it had a large arch above the entrance that was decorated with small carved suns that were identical to the larger one. Leona walked much more slowly than the elders did, taking in everything around her with amazement written on her face. She felt as though she were just a child again, watching as the warriors of the Rakkor donned their armor before they marched off to battle.

There were statues of people she did not know set all along the hallway, many accompanied by a painting or woven tapestries that hung behind the particular bust. There were images of battle and victory all along the walls, some of which she recognized as the Rakkoran stories that she heard growing up in the camp. Leona twisted her head around, and she could see a handful of images whose stories she _did _remember.

There was a statue of the great warrior Achilles, who had singlehandedly stopped a Noxian assault on Mt. Targon consisting of more than 100 Crimson Elite soldiers at the cost of his own life; there was another statue, this one of Agmannon, who had killed a dragon with his bare hands, and who would go on to wear its scales as armor in the rest of his battles; there was a painting of Targon himself, who had unified the scattered tribes of the mountain into what became known as the Rakkor; there was Penelope, a female Rakkor who had journeyed all the way to the Freljord to avenge her fallen husband and slay his murderer. There were others that she thought recognized, but she had forgotten the stories for many of them. Their stone faces looked at her sternly, their blank eyes staring ahead like they were looking at something only they could see.

A sense of awestruck marvel filled her, and she shivered slightly as she looked at the faces of silent stone. Leona had always been more of a fan of the tales of old than the other children, and she looked at the intricately colorful tapestries and paintings with eyes wide in wonder. The statues were interesting – to be sure – but they were _nothing_ compared to the tapestries; she had never seen anything that held so much whispered promise of knowledge and secrets as those tapestries. They had been woven together from threads of colors that she had never even _dreamed_ of, and they blended together like ink more than cloth. The detail was astounding on some of them, and some of the images were so lifelike that she thought they were going to jump out of the cloth and attack her.

She did not even realize that she had stopped walking until she finally looked away from the tapestries and saw that the rest of the elders were looking back at her. Many had expressions that bordered on annoyance on their faces, but they held their tongues. The only one who did not look negatively affected by her reaction was Aloysius; he had what she thought might have been an understanding expression on his face. His bright blue eyes were twinkling with what looked to her like amusement, and he gave her a small smile.

"There will time to further explore the temple later, your Radiance," said Antigone tersely. She had the trace of an unhappy frown on her lips, and the rest of her expression was just as severe. "But for now, please come with us. And _do_ try to make haste. There are pressing matters we must attend to."

For a moment, Leona considered refusing – just to see the extent of her apparent influence over the elders – but she decided against it. It would not be wise to make enemies in a place where she knew no one else. Somewhat reluctantly, she walked over to where the elders stood in a disapproving circle. She was just as tall – if not taller – as most of them, but she still hung her head remorsefully. Her fingers picked restlessly at the edges of her robe and she shifted her sandals in what she hoped was a passable show of embarrassment.

She felt Antigone place a restraining hand on her shoulder, and she was led away down the hall. The elder's hand was thin and bony, and it felt to Leona like a hawk had wrapped its claw around her shoulder. She winced inwardly as Antigone's nails dug into her skin, but she made no noise of discomfort. After all, Rakkor did not show their discomfort.

They led her further down the long central hallway at a much brisker pace now; she found herself walking far quicker than she would have liked, and she had little time to appreciate the rest of the temple. She thought she saw several other Solari acolytes staring at her as she passed by, but they were gone too fast for her to get a good look at them. She passed many more hallways that branched off of the main hallway, and she marveled again at just how big Skyfire was.

What was even stranger was that all the hallways were still bright, even though they were far away from the reaches of the sunlight or any windows. They were likely in the middle of the mountain now, and yet the hallways still looked as though they were in broad daylight. She thought that it might have had something to do with the stone the walls were carved from, but she was unsure. It certainly _seemed_ magical to her, but she had little experience in those matters to begin with.

Suddenly, they led her into another hallway that split off from the one they were walking in. Leona followed the elders up flights of stairs until she had lost count of all the floors she had passed through. They walked up a spiral staircase until they came to the top of stairs, where another door was waiting for them.

One of the elders unlocked with a key that hung from his belt, and they walked inside.

* * *

><p>Diana bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She could feel tears of pain burning almost painfully at the back of her eyes, but she did not allow herself to make a sound; she would <em>not<em> give the other Solari the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut as much as she could and bit on the side of her cheeks until she tasted blood.

Her back felt as though lines of fire were burning on her skin: long lashes of agony that stretched across the entirety of her back and marked where the whip had struck her. It was a pain that she was all too familiar with, but that did not mean that it ever got easier to bear. Even through the mind-dulling pain, she had kept careful count and she knew that there were still 3 more lashings left of the 10 that she had been consigned.

Her back was bare, and the mountain air stung slightly as it blew across the cuts made by the corded leather whip. She could feel the sun beating down on her, and she was sweating from the heat. The drops of sweat that trailed down her back stung as they fell into her wounds, and there they mingled with the blood from the cuts. She did not know why, but the elders always punished her under the rays of the sun, as if they believed it would burn away her sins more than the whippings could.

Her wrists were lashed to the posts that were on either side of her, and they restrained her arms with the robe. Her arms were pulled so tightly apart that they would flare with pain every time she made the smallest of movements. Her legs were already weak from walking down Mt. Targon all day, and she was almost dangling from the posts. Odella – the Solari who had been placed in charge of disciplining her – had torn off the back of her robe to expose the flesh. Diana had long since lost count of all the robes she had ruined, both by whippings and from simply overusing. She was forced to make her own robes more often than not, and she had gotten quite adept at weaving the cotton.

But she was not thinking about weaving just now.

It had been almost 30 seconds since the last time she had been struck, and mentally, she prepared herself for the pain again. She had been disciplined by Odella before, and she knew her habits well. The older Solari preferred to keep the time in between lashings long so that the pain did not come all at once, and she liked to strike the same place more than once if she could. Diana's hands curled slightly and her back tensed as she prepared herself.

It was not long in coming.

For a second, all Diana heard was the sound of the whip cracking; it was a sharp noise that sounded more like someone had thrown a stone against a wall than something she knew to be fluid. As always, there a brief, foolish moment when she thought that the pain would not come. But then white-hot agony burned across her back as though someone had pressed a long brand against her skin. She arched her back, inhaling sharply as her legs stiffened. The hands that were half-curled tightened into fists, and she dug her nails into her palms hard enough to draw blood. She could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth as she bit down hard to stifle her scream.

The rough ropes around her wrists cut into her skin as she strained against them, willing herself not to cry out. The sharp pain on her back remained for several long seconds before it finally dulled into a throb that pulsed in time with her heartbeat. Only then did Diana finally draw breath again, and she did so through clenched teeth. She could feel a small trail of blood trickle from a corner of her mouth as she closed her eyes.

The next two came just as slowly.

When Odella was finally done, she coiled the whip into a tight circle and pulled a small knife from within her ropes. She said nothing as she cut Diana down from the posts she was tied to. She pulled the ropes roughly off of her, not even trying to be gentle with the raw angry-looking skin of her wrists. She held Diana up only long enough to remove the ropes before she let her go and let her fall unceremoniously to the ground. Odella did not spare her so much as a backwards glance as she walked away, holding the blood-stained whip in her right hand.

Diana's legs were weak from exhaustion and her mind was numb with pain as she fell forward. She was unable to stop herself from falling over onto her face, and she collided heavily with the ground. The grass was cool underneath her, and she was grateful that it was.

She lay like that for several motionless minutes, her body throbbing dully with pain that seemed to envelop her entire being. She could hear her own breathing loud in her ears and feel every beat of her heart as it sent fresh pain shooting through the cuts on her back. She did not know how much more time had passed before she finally forced herself to get up.

Shakily and on trembling arms, she pushed herself to a more seated position. She was careful not to aggravate her injured back too much, but it was a difficult task to manage. Pain shot up her spine with the smallest movement and she hissed with pain. She held her tattered robes to her chest with her arms as best she could to make sure that they did not fall. Stumbling over the grass, she made her way out of the courtyard where she had been punished and back into the temple. Her bare feet were uncertain against the stone, and she stopped more than once to lean against a wall for support. Her breathing was ragged, and she felt slightly woozy from the pain.

Diana knew the hallways of Skyfire better than anyone else, and she knew the path back to her room well. Her room was far in the temple, secluded from the others as though the Solari elders had tried to bury their disgrace in the mountain itself. Diana did not mind; it meant that the others left her alone and she was fine with that.

Her room was locked – she always left it locked – and she fumbled with the keys that she kept hung around her neck. Her hands were slick with her own blood and they slipped against her fingers. After a moment, she got the door open and she nearly fell inside. Catching herself on the doorway just before she could fall more heavily, she staggered over to her bed. Her legs crumbled beneath her, and she fell onto the simple bed.

Diana could feel the tears stinging at her eyes again and her hands clenched into fists of frustration. She buried her face into her pillow and used it to stifle her sobs. Why did the elders never just _listen_ to her? Why did they never give her just a _chance_? The pain from her back was agonizing, and it hurt to breath. The room was quiet save for her quiet sobs, and Diana knew she was alone again. There was no one else to share what she knew with, and there was no one else who cared.

Then – and only then – did she allow herself to cry.


End file.
